WEBVTT TO STAY HEALTHY. BUT DOES ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR ONES -- WORK? DR. RAMO HAS THE ANSWER FOR US... IT'S NEW ON THE HEALTHBEAT. DOCTOR RAMO I REMEMBER A LITTLE WHILE BACK, A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WAS A BIG CRAZE OVER GINKO BILOBA. AND IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP WITH YOUR BRAIN FUNCTION AND KEEP YOU SHARP. YOU REMEMBER IT BECAUSE YOU WERE TAKING GINKO BILOBA? NO. I DID NOT TAKE IT. I DID NOT TAKE IT. DESPITE THE FACT THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE TAKING IT, THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE IN A NUMBER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. AND THE MOST RECENT TRIAL, WHICH IS THE LARGEST TRIAL, WENT OVER A 5 YEAR PERIOD IN OLDER ADULTS, FOUND THAT GINKO BILOBA HAD ABSOLUTELY NO BENEFIT IN TERMS OF KEEPING YOU SHARP. IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY OR ANY OTHER MEASURE OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION. IT'S REALLY A WASTE OF MONEY AND ALSO IT'S A PROBLEM. WHY IS IT A PROBLEM? CAN IT AFFECT YOUR HEALTH? YOU BET. IN FACT, HERE'S THE PROBLEM, YOU BUY A NATURAL OVER THE COUNTER SUPPLEMENT YOU'RE SHOOTING THE DICE. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S IN IT. THE CONCENTRATION OF GINKO CAN VARY. BUT GINKO MAKES YOUR BLOOD THIN, IT CAN CAUSE BLEEDING AND IT CAN INTERACT WITH OTHER MEDICATIONS THAT YOU'RE TAKING. BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE INTERACTION IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE DRUG WORKS WITH YOUR OTHER DRUGS AND MAKES IT STRONGER OR SOMETIMES IT MAKES IT WEAKER. SO IT'S REALLY A NO NO DRUG I THINK FOR ANYBODY, PARTICULARLY FOR OLDER PEOPLE WHO MAY BE TAKING A LOT OF MEDICATIONS. AND IT SURE DOESN'T SEEM TO MAKE ANYBODY'S MEMORY ANY BETTER. OH BOY, SO NOT RECOMMENDED BY YOU? I WOULD SAY THAT'S TRUE. THANKS DOCTOR RAMO. FOR MORE INFORMATION HEAD TO THE HEALTHBEAT SECTION OF KOAT.COM